I love, love, love the Muppets and Sesame Street. Besides Mister Rogers, they are responsible for my first television memories.

But this new three-part Sesame Street sketch, a Real Housewives parody called “The Real Grouches of Sesame Street,” just doesn’t work.

I recognize that Sesame Street’s content is primarily for the show’s pre-school audience—even if it’s a parody with references that will be lost on kids. There’s a useful lesson about sharing in the third part, and it’s perfectly fine for the show’s audience of children.

But they’re doing a parody—and promoting it via public relations agency that sent out an alert to media—in order to get attention from adults for the pop cultural reference.

And that part just isn’t funny. The funniest jokes are in the intro and the cutaway soundbites. Okay. Sesame Street has also set a high bar for these parodies, including reality TV ones, and this just doesn’t reach that bar.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Vulture, and many other publications. Andy, 39, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality television and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It's edited by Andy Dehnart.

reality blurred is regularly updated with reality TV news; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of all of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.